Effective and Efficient Wage and Hour Defense

Understand the legal threats to your business and discover solutions to avoid the storm.

“Wage-and-hour litigation is the fastest-growing type of class action, according to legal experts.”

– BusinessInsurance.com

“There are more than 25 wage and hour class actions filed against businesses every week in California.”

– Courthouse News Service

We’ve done our homework: In 2014, there were approximately 450 wage and hour class and PAGA actions filed against California businesses. In 2017, that number has skyrocketed to nearly 2,000 (a more than 400% increase). The average legal spend to defend a wage and hour lawsuit (not including damages or settlement payments to the plaintiffs) is approximately $100,000 and often can balloon into the high six figures.

We know this space: Our attorneys, all alumni of large, prestigious law firms, have defended well over 200 wage and hour lawsuits all over the state for employers with anywhere from twenty-five to over ten thousand California employees. We also own a separate company dedicated to protecting your business from being hit with a wage and hour lawsuit in the first place.

We know the lawyers filing these cases: Our vast experience on wage and hour cases means we’ve come to know the usual suspects targeting California businesses. We know their tactics and motivations, and we have a proven track record of success working with these attorneys to quickly and efficiently resolve even the most complex wage and hour cases.

Employee Class Action v. Your Business

An overwhelming percentage of all employment cases filed in California are class actions. In 2017, there were over 1,700 employment class actions and Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) lawsuits filed against California businesses – an average of 5 per day – which is over triple the number only three years prior. Seven- and eight-figure settlements are common for large companies facing wage and hour class actions, while small- and medium-sized businesses regularly dish out high five- or six-figure settlements to extract themselves from these lawsuits. In the process, these businesses spend tens of thousands of dollars to defend themselves. If your business has been hit with an employment class action, this brief video will help get you up to speed on the basics and present some logical next steps and potential solutions.

California Employment Laws v. Your Business

California has some of the most exhaustive and complex employment laws in the country. There are literally hundreds of potential Labor Code violations in California and thousands of lawyers ready to file lawsuits at every turn seeking penalties for everything from missed or untimely meal periods to inaccurate paystubs or unsuitable seats. Although the harm from these violations is often minuscule, the potential penalties can quickly exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars. This short video explains how our firm can develop customized compliance solutions to help your business avoid wage and hour extortion-styled lawsuits.

PAGA Action v. Your Business

In addition to employment class actions, there are a growing number of representative actions filed under the Private Attorneys General Act (“PAGA”), which allow a single employee to sue for all “aggrieved employees” for ticky-tack violations of the Labor Code, like not having certain information on your pay stub or having a pay cycle that is a few days late. Our firm has developed a niche practice defending businessess from extortion-styled PAGA actions. Our firm understands the threat these actions present to a business, which includes the threat of runaway attorney/defense fees. We have developed a quick and efficient litigation strategy to tackle these actions head on and to quickly get your business back on track, while reducing legal spend and improving your policies and practices to decrease the risk of your business being targeted in the future.

Employment Class Action Experience

Our firm has successfully represented small, medium, and large businesses in wage and hour class actions all over California. Our attorneys have decades of collective class action experience and have a strong record on defeating class certification. Our lawyers have litigated employment class actions on both sides of the bar, argued class action cases at state and federal courts of appeal, developed YouTube videos on class actions, and published and lectured on employment class action topics.

Wage and Hour Training and Policy Review

Our firm has created innovative compliance solutions and state-of-the-art training for employees and managers on wage and hour issues. We have trained more than one thousand business executives and managers across the state on employment law issues. We partner with your business to create compliance solutions customized to your business and budget.

Click here if you’d also like to learn more about helping to prevent employment lawsuits from being filed in the first place.

In 2015, the lawyers of Medina McKelvey formed California Compliance Solutions, LLC (“CCS”), a first-of-its kind training and compliance company that comprehensively trains and certifies your managers and employees in employment law issues to help deter and prevent employment lawsuits against your business.